Like a pebble stuck in a shoe, international student advisers can spend up to 30% of their time simply on paper processing. Instead of guiding students through an exciting chapter in their lives thousands of miles away from their homeland, designated school officials (DSOs) are crammed in a sterile office room, plugging away data entries.

University of Maryland Baltimore County is mainly flooded with international applications, seeing that they went from fewer than 800 international students to about 2,400 in three years, according to Adam Julian, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars and Center for Global Engagement. With active F-1 students making up 11% of undergraduate students, UMBC has experienced a 300% international student program expansion over the last four years. “There wasn’t a direct correlation to staffing and resources that came along with that,” says Julian. Similarly, Citrus College’s (Calif.) international student program had a two-person team when its office was hit with double the rate of applications on a paper-based system.

More from UB: Existential threat: Students worry AI will replace their skills and knowledge

“Universities in the U.S. in my line of work, unfortunately, become immigration processing offices,” says Julian. “That’s certainly the baseline expectation, but that’s not the expectation from the student or the campus community.”

Consequently, both institutions were leaving money on the table and burning labor. Despite all the painstakingly long hours DSO advisers would spend sifting through outdated U.S. agency websites and collecting vital academic and student biographic documents, applicants were moving on to different universities that could process their I-20s more quickly.

To combat this tidal wave of international student applications and a limited DSO office. Both of these schools have turned to a paperless batch system software to eliminate delays with mailing and allow advisers to work on more than a hundred applications simultaneously.

“We now have way more capacity to focus on yield activities for our admitted students, and it’s certainly resulted in better enrollment results. Without this service, I think the enrollment wouldn’t have grown as much as it is,” says Julian.

At Citrus College, the international student program saw file processing times reduce from weeks to hours. It’s helped eliminate data entry errors and accept student applications quicker, boosting international student enrollment. Consequently, Citrus College experienced a near-perfect international application yield and matriculation rate.

UMBC and Citrus College’s software of choice is Terra Dotta, which the University of Florida also uses to support its more than 6,000 international students yearly.

“Automating our international student services with Terra Dotta has made a big impact on our registration and advising success,” said Mary Mincer, International Student Technician and DSO for Citrus College.

Boosting DSO retention and employment

Using a batch software solution doesn’t just help colleges maximize their international student enrollment. It has also freed up DSO offices’ time to focus on the work that’s keeping them fulfilled. Instead of “pressing buttons and issuing CTP authorizations” all day, DCO advisers are working on the things that matter the most to them.

“Morale has increased. Also, just people’s fulfillment in their roles has increased,” says Julian. “We all share a common interest in int’l student support and immigration, but everyone has their own passion projects or strings, so being able to engage on those on some level really improves retention and morale, and it helps with professional development.”

The post These schools are working smarter, not harder, to boost international student enrollment appeared first on University Business.

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill requiring all grants from an academic institution “based in a foreign country of concern,” such as China, to be authorized by the Florida Board of Governors or the State Board of Education. Florida also cannot participate in any agreement or partnership with a foreign institution unless authorized. Similarly, Ohio bill SB 83 proposed in March aims to ban outright all formal relationships between Ohio’s public higher education system and China’s academic institutions.

While Florida and Ohio’s bills do not affect student admissions, Texas legislators are taking the matter further, seeking to ban Chinese citizens from being admitted to state public colleges and universities.

As state legislators “crack down on Communist China,” it’s coalescing with a dwindling rate of Chinese international students coming to the U.S. for study. The 2021-22 academic year saw an 8.6% drop in Chinese students and a 12.8% decrease in undergraduate students specifically. While pandemic-era travel restrictions can be partially blamed for the decline, recruitment began staggering in the three academic years leading up to it. For example, while the 2012-13 academic year experienced a 21% increase in Chinese students, the 2019-20 uptick was less than 1%.

If Chinese international students continue to ease their enthusiasm for the U.S., higher education can be looking to take a significant hit. The Department of Commerce in 2018 calculated that Chinese students bring in $15 billion to the economy, which is 38% of all international students’ economic impact.

More from UB: This college celebrates its largest incoming class in 5 years after nearly merging

Why is Chinese fervor cooling down?

Prejudice

The 2022 STAATUS Index revealed that one in five Americans believed that Asian Americans were at least partly responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19. The year before showed that only one in ten considered this, which shows prejudice against Asians doesn’t seem to be decreasing even though the pandemic has slowly become a thing of the past. Similarly, this past April, The State of Chinese Americans survey discovered 74% of Chinese Americans experienced racial discrimination in the last 12 months.

Competition from the U.K.

In 2021, the U.K. received the most Chinese students compared to any other country, taking in more than 150,000 students. Between the 2017-18 and 2021-22 academic years, the influx of Chinese students has increased by 41%.

While the U.S. still carries the most international students currently, the higher rate in the U.K. can soon change the tide. Chinese students prefer the U.K. for their friendlier geopolitical relationship over the U.S. and its perceived safer environment. America’s lax gun control has scared and alarmed both Chinese citizens and their government alike, with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling the U.S.’ string of domestic gun violence a “recurring nightmare.”

The post U.S.-China relations in higher ed is slipping. That’s a problem. appeared first on University Business.

In short, more applicants applied to more institutions compared to the fall before the pandemic. The data—which is restricted to the 841 member colleges that used the Common App in 2019—also show that through Dec. 1, 2022:

1. 952,985 distinct first-year applicants have applied to those Common App members—a 24% increase
2. Total application volume rose 36% to over 4 million.
3. Applicants filed an average of 4.3 applications each—a 10% increase.
4. Underrepresented minority applicants grew by 37% while first-generation applicants rose by 43%.
5. The number of distinct international applicants has increased at over triple the rate of domestic applicants since 2019–20. China, India, Nigeria, Ghana, and Canada were the leading countries for international applicants.
6. Applications to public institutions grew more than those to private schools—47% for publics, 25% for privates.

Other data shows that students reporting eligibility for a Common App fee waiver increased at nearly three times the rate of students not reporting waiver eligibility.

Meanwhile, more than half of the applicants from within in the U.S. resided in the most affluent quintile (the top 20%) of ZIP codes nationwide, compared to just 6% from the bottom fifth. These numbers are similar to data from past early application seasons.

“When examining application trends through early deadlines in Fall 2022, we see tremendous growth in applicant and application totals over the past three seasons,” the report concludes. “The majority of applicants continue to hail from the wealthiest zip codes and test score reporting behaviors have fallen slightly from last season and still vary significantly across demographic subgroups.”

More from UB: 1 in 6 college students are literally gambling with their financial aid

The post Good news for higher ed: Applications are on the rise for fall 2023 appeared first on University Business.

During the 2019-2020 school year, 162,633 students studied abroad. That number took a substantial hit the following school year: According to data from a 2022 report from Open Doors, an annual census-taking organization that focuses on international students, a mere 14,549 students had the opportunity to study abroad during the 2020-2021 academic year—a 96% decline in participation since before the pandemic.

In the coming years, experts predict enrollment in study abroad programs will bounce back significantly. According to The Power of International Education’s Spring 2022 Snapshot, 83% of higher education institutions reported an uptick in study abroad numbers for the 2022-2023 school year compared to last year.

“In summer 2021, 43% of institutions noted study abroad cancellations, whereas less than one percent of institutions anticipated that study abroad would be canceled in spring 2023,” the report reads.

During the pandemic, students were forced to take an alternative approach to abroad learning, according to the Open Doors report. In addition to those who were able to study abroad during the 2020-2021 school year, 32,000 participated in online global learning experiences.

“U.S. colleges and universities provided a wide array of online opportunities for students to gain global educational experiences,” the data highlights on their website. “The most popular online experiences included internships and consulting with global companies, courses paired across institutions that work together, collaborative project-based learning, and videoconferencing dialogues.”

Additionally, more than 50% of all higher education institutions reported offering multiple opportunities for online global learning.

“This is an area where we have seen tremendous growth in institutional reporting over the past year,” the data highlights read. “In 2019-20, approximately 250 institutions reported students taking part in online global learning opportunities. In 2020-2021, 427 institutions provided data about students participating in these programs, nearly double the number of institutions that reported data in the prior year.”

More from UB: More colleges are doing away with test requirements for good

The post How badly did study abroad programs suffer this past school year? appeared first on University Business.

Unfortunately, that same diplomacy is not occurring between their two nations as Russian forces have invaded, bombed and threatened more lethal action as they storm through Ukraine’s major cities and small towns. Ukraine’s citizens are gamely fighting back, hoping for peace and to keep their independence. It is a developing and confusing situation for those who’ve come here to study, build relationships and learn about new cultures, including each other’s.

At the University of South Florida, the war hasn’t yet broken the alliances of those who’ve come together from two different worlds separated by one border. “Certainly, our students from Ukraine are very concerned about friends and family, their home country and their sovereignty,” says Kiki Caruson, Interim Vice President of USF World at the University of South Florida. “Our Russian students are very concerned about their Ukrainian counterparts and how they will be perceived in our culture, as agents of a government that they may not agree with. They all know each other, they do things together. So they’re friends first and representatives of their countries second.”

The Russian invasion has sparked backlash on the internet and during rallies on some college campuses, but leaders at USF and other proactive institutions are sending strong statements to their communities to not place blame or call out those who are in the U.S. simply to get an education. Many colleges, including USF, are holding peaceful gatherings or candelight vigils. “None of them are responsible for government action,” Caruson said. “That’s surely a message that we’ve been pushing because there’s been some ugly stuff on social media.”

For those here from Russia and Ukraine, and other students who empathize with them, uncertainty reigns. Will Ukraine fall? Will the conflict affect other nations, including the U.S.? What happens to students and their families if escalations don’t get tamped down quickly? And what will the immediate future look like for these students?

“In terms of the summer and fall, it’s probably too early to tell what the longer-term impact will be on exchange programs between the United States and Ukraine,” says Jason Czyz, Co-President of the Institute of International Education. “But if you look at the history of our relations – the IIE was actually founded during the Russian Revolution – throughout the Cold War, the good and the bad, our universities have remained open to Russian students. My guess is that whole cultural and educational exchange between our countries will continue.”

More from UB: War in Ukraine prompts dire warnings and condemnations from higher ed leaders

In the meantime, the IIE has sent an appeal under its Emergency Student Fund program to get grant money to Ukrainian students in need. So far, 50 institutions in the U.S. have responded. Czyz says it is likely that several more rounds of funding will be forthcoming. In addition, it has several other programs that will help in the long term – those that have helped in other impactful situations, such as Afghanistan and Haiti – including placements for scholars so they can continue their academic careers, teaching and research, as well as a protection program that helps place artists temporarily in art studios and museums. The IIE also has an Odyssey scholarship that helps pay basic necessities for refugees that Czyz says likely will be expanded to 15-20 students in the future.

In addition, several national organizations and politicians have called on the federal government to intervene and grant temporary protective visa status to those foreign-born citizens in the U.S., including international students. Students pursuing undergraduate or higher degrees face a long road ahead, but there are some who will be graduating in May that face an even more uncertain future. They could apply for optional practical training to remain in the U.S. Yet, most are concerned about their families and colleagues, their nations and more tangible resources. USF and other institutions also have students online in Ukraine that they are concerned about.

“We’ve got a student who’s in Ukraine, studying with us online, and we’re desperately trying to get in touch with him,” Caruson says. “The students [in the U.S.] need extra hours to work. So wherever we can, we are going to try to find university jobs for students who are eligible for those. The overarching conversation has not been, oh my gosh, I’m graduating. The conversation has been, I’m really scared about what’s happening back home. I’m scared about my family. I’m concerned about world events. And on the horizon, I’m worried about financials, because I know this is going to tie up bank accounts. If the U.S. sanctions Russia, what does that mean?”

One of the disappointing offshoots of the war for the international student community is that exchange programs were seeing a nice rebound two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, as noted in the IIE’s latest Snapshot report in the fall. The unrest is now sparking uncertainty about the near-term future across the globe from many students, including U.S. students pursuing study abroad, even to countries that have no ties to Russia or Ukraine.

“We’re starting to get a lot of questions,” Caruson says. “Is study abroad going to happen? Even questions about Panama. At this time, we’re not canceling programs. We’re not suspending programs. We don’t have any programs going to Russia or Ukraine. In the past we have, but because of COVID, we’ve had to be very selective about where we go. We monitor developing situations and have become very agile.”

Though it might take time to get all of the issues sorted and get students help, there is confidence that international exchange with those nations eventually will recover and rebound.

“There is a huge pent-up demand for international exchange and scholarship,” Czyz said. “People want to get back out on the road and overseas and experience different cultures learn different languages. Whether this war will have a chilling effect on that. I don’t know. But regardless of whether it’s a pandemic or a war, as soon as things start to ease, you see people start moving again. I expect that if this does have a chilling effect, we’ll see the same thing here. We’ll see exchange programs continue and be just as robust, if not more robust than before.”

The post How is the Russia-Ukraine war impacting international student exchange? appeared first on University Business.

In the best of times, they’ve done remarkably well to bring different people together with enriching study abroad and international student programs. In some of the most challenging times recently, college offices have put forth extraordinary efforts, dealing head-on with issues of racial justice, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

This year, NAFSA has honored five special colleges and universities for achieving excellence in that work with 2022 Senator Paul Simon Awards for Campus Internationalization, including comprehensive winners Kent State University and The College of Lake County. Their flexible solutions not only kept programs running both in-person and online but also offered innovative ideas for the future.

“This year’s awards recognize both creative responses to the recent challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as long-established programs that are true standard-bearers for the field of international education,” NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Esther Brimmer said. “We commend all five recipients for their commitment to engaging their full student population in the pursuit of global education. The Simon Awards continue to serve as an inspiring showcase of how international education is ever-evolving to foster greater understanding and respect among students of diverse backgrounds and forge leaders who are equipped for a globally connected future.”

Globally focused initiatives at Marist College, Northeastern University and Northwestern University were honored with Spotlight awards. All of them made a “conscious effort to integrate and infuse international, intercultural and global dimensions into the ethos and outcomes of their students’ education.”

Marist, a perennial honoree for its study abroad work, was given marks for its Freshman Experiences, which gives students the opportunities to study and embrace the cultures of Florence, Italy, and Dublin, Ireland. That immersion, which Marish supports heavily with academic and residential support services, can help students “distinguish themselves from others” from the first year.

Northeastern was lauded for its world-renowned Global Co-op program, which allows students the opportunity to learn, network and work overseas while giving international students coming to the U.S. a chance to gain skills here. And Northwestern’s Global Engagement Studies Institute was honored for its mission to solve worldwide challenges in numerous countries such as Costa Rica, Ghana, Argentina and Vietnam, as well as its ability to pivot to hybrid during the COVID crisis.

The choice of just two overall campuswide initiatives—at Kent State and the College of Lake County—bucked a trend of at least four being named across the history of the awards. But they each stood out for their breadth in serving students with an array of academic and cultural programs.

More from UB: The 6 areas that are essential in supporting international students

The College of Lake County, a large community college system in Illinois, has been a leader in developing and advising its students, both those who come to the U.S. and those who study abroad, into global citizens. It hosts 70-100 students from 35 nations and provides options for domestic students to go to 10 countries, including China, the Philippines, Japan, Austria, Costa Rica, England, Ireland, France and Spain. And the big bonus is its cost, which is far less than that of traditional four-year institutions.

“We are delighted to have been honored with this award from NAFSA in recognition of our efforts and ongoing work to promote global citizenship and international education throughout our college and Lake County community,” CLC Director of Global Engagement Dr. Jacob Cushing said. “This award is a direct result of support from countless CLC staff, engaged faculty, an encouraging administration and courageous students who, at their heart, believe in the importance and mission of international education and global engagement.”

Kent State University serves more than 1,300 international students and offers American-born students the opportunity to study abroad in more than 60 countries, with a pair of education centers in Florence and Curitiba, Brazil. Hit hard by the pandemic, which reduced those abroad students from 1,500 to 200, Kent State officials say they expect to see a possible record-setting rebound in the fall. “At Kent State University, we are committed to granting access to students from all around the world and to make the whole world available for our students,” said Marcello Fantoni, Kent State’s vice president for global education. “We want to graduate students ready for the global world as active participants in a democratic society.”

PAST WINNERS

2021
Comprehensive Award
Davidson-Davie Community College
Florida International University
Lehigh University
Santa Fe College
The University of Texas at Austin
Spotlight Award
Indiana University for its Global Gateway for Teachers program
Miami Dade College for its Educate Tomorrow Abroad program
University of North Carolina Wilmington for its First-Year Spring Admit (FYSA) in the UK program
2020
Comprehensive Award
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach Campus
Emerson College
United States Naval Academy
University of California-Davis
Spotlight Award
Agnes Scott College for its SUMMIT Global Journeys program
DePaul University for its Global Learning Experience program
University of Maryland-College Park for its Year of Immigration initiative
2019
Comprehensive Award
Brown University
Dickinson College
Kirkwood Community College
Miami University
West Virginia University
Spotlight Award
SUNY Buffalo State for its SUNY Buffalo State International Professional Development Schools (IPDS) Consortium
University of Evansville for its UE Builds: Local and Global
Virginia Tech for its Rising Sophomore Abroad Program
2018
Comprehensive Award
Babson College
St. Lawrence University
Stony Brook University
Texas Tech University
University of Florida
Spotlight Award
Baldwin Wallace University for its BW in Zambia program
Harper College for its Global Region of Focus Initiative
University of Georgia for its UGA-Minas Gerais Joint Research Partnership
2017
Comprehensive Award
Florida State University
Santa Monica College
University of Iowa
University of Pittsburgh
Spotlight Award
Spelman College for the Spelman Going Global Initiative
Texas Christian University for the TCU Rhino Initiative
University of North Texas for the Heart of Mexico Program
2016
Comprehensive Award
College of William & Mary
New York Institute of Technology
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Tampa
Spotlight Award
East Carolina University
Texas Tech University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2015
Comprehensive Award
University of Delaware
Mount Holyoke College
North Central College
University of San Diego
University of Virginia
Spotlight Award
Rice University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University
2014
Comprehensive Award
Columbus State University
North Carolina State University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
The Ohio State University
Spotlight Award
Albion College
George Mason University
The University of Texas at Austin
2013
Comprehensive Award
Colorado State University
Green River Community College
Lone Star College System
St. Cloud State University
University of South Florida
Spotlight Award
Fairfield University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
2012
Comprehensive Award
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
Juniata College
Northern Arizona University
San Francisco State University
University of Michigan
Spotlight Award
Providence College
University of Arizona
Washington and Jefferson College
2011
Comprehensive Award
Beloit College
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Kennesaw State University
Macalester College
New York University
Spotlight Award
Barnard College
University of Rhode Island
University of San Diego
2010
Comprehensive Award
Carnegie Mellon University
Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Loyola University Maryland
Northeastern University
University of San Francisco
Spotlight Award
Borough of Manhattan Community College
La Roche College
College of the Atlantic
2009
Comprehensive Award
Boston University
Connecticut College
Pacific Lutheran University
Portland State University
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Spotlight Award
Berklee College of Music
Fairleigh Dickinson University
University of California Davis
2008
Comprehensive Award
Goucher College
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Pittsburg State University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Valparaiso University
Spotlight Award
Colorado State University
Miami Dade College
Webster University
2007
Comprehensive Award
Calvin College
Elon University
Georgia Institute of Technology
The University of Oklahoma
Spotlight Award
Shoreline Community College
Valparaiso University
2006
Comprehensive Award
Arcadia University
Concordia College
Earlham College
Michigan State University
Purdue University
Spotlight Award
Babson College
Old Dominion University
University of Richmond
2005
Comprehensive Award
Colby College
Colgate University
Howard Community College
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Kansas
Spotlight Award
Columbus State Community College
El Camino College
University of Denver
2004
Comprehensive Award
Bellevue Community College
Binghamton University
Duke University
St. Norbert College
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Spotlight Award
Juniata College
Lynn University
Missouri Southern State University
Suffolk University
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
2003
Comprehensive Award
Community College of Philadelphia
Dickinson College
Eastern Mennonite University
Indiana University
San Diego State University
Yale University
Spotlight Award
Duke University
Kalamazoo College
Kapi’olani Community College/University of Hawaii
Middlebury College
Montclair State University
Randolph Macon Woman’s College
St. Olaf College
Tufts University
University of Pittsburgh
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The post These 5 colleges earn high marks for international and study abroad success appeared first on University Business.

As uncertainty swirls around this new coronavirus spinoff’s transmissibility and possible evasion of COVID-19 vaccines, the government is moving more quickly on it than delta. Other countries such as Germany have installed steeper mandates on the unvaccinated to try to curtail spread before the holidays.

The worldwide reaction to omicron could have a deep impact on two of the mainstays of higher education—international student travel and study abroad. During the early stages of the pandemic, student travel was severely impacted. When delta emerged, summer travel took another big hit. There are still a lot of unknowns, but public health experts are being much more guarded and cautious.

“When there is a risk of transmission, we need to find that balance of restricting and mitigating risks,” says Dr. Philip Chan, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Brown University who has been instrumental in the state of Rhode Island’s COVID response. “Given that there are so many unknowns, I agree with restricting travel to areas at the moment until we learn more. That’s one thing we did not do well early in 2020. The virus had already spread halfway across the world,  and we were still traveling.”

So far, the U.S. is only limiting travel from a handful of countries, mostly in southern Africa, where the variant emerged. But there could be more coming. And that leaves those programs’ operations in a bit of flux.

“I think the biggest concern and stressor for us about [omicron] is our current students who are abroad and what’s going to happen in terms of getting them home,” says Kathleen Harring, president at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. “We typically have almost 100 in the fall and 100 in the spring. I think we have 48. But then we have over 90 students who are prepared to go in the spring. What’s going to happen? Are borders going to close?”

There are roughly 915,000 international students who attend institutions in the United States, a big boost from the fall of 2020. Study abroad interest also has grown, according to the latest Open Doors and Snapshot series reports from the Institute of International Education (IIE). The IIE, U.S. State Department and institutions, with help from EducationUSA offices in more than 160 countries, have done well to keep programs going, even pulling together remote options when necessary.

So, even though a looming crisis may seem imminent, institutions and their programs are incredibly agile in handling these moments.

“U.S. higher ed is really adept at handling uncertainty,” says Mary Karam McKey, IIE’s Head of Corporate and Foundation Programs. “We saw that with the start of COVID-19 and how institutions adapted to the pandemic, supporting international students who weren’t able to travel to campus. They developed virtual learning and remote internship programs. For those students on campus, they provided increased communication on health, safety and well-being. The new variant is going to be a challenge. But there is optimism. And we’ll continue to monitor conditions, both globally and regionally.”

The IIE has provided a strong assist throughout the pandemic to colleges and universities. “One of the things we did was support more than 1,000 students through our Emergency Student Fund, a program that provides grants to international students in the U.S. who are impacted by crises, whether they be global crises, or in their home countries,” McKey says. “In addition, we’ve created opportunities for members to connect with one another, stay up to date on critical topics and share expertise.”

McKey believes if omicron is indeed a widespread threat, institutions will be ready to pivot. “I am confident protocols are continually being examined in light of the current situation,” she says. “If students are here in the U.S., and this variant takes over and poses a risk to in-person learning, if students had to move into a virtual space, they would do so.”

Anita Barkin, co-chair of the American College Health Association’s COVID-19 Task Force, agrees but says students themselves should be proactive and think about actionable steps. “Schools have responded pretty quickly and appropriately when they needed to,” she says. “But if I were an international student, I would be in touch with my country’s state department. I would be looking at what travel advice my country is putting in place. I would be talking to the Office of International Education on my campus and seeing what they advise about travel restrictions and my ability to get back to the U.S. if this becomes a problem.

“As for study abroad, they may not know until the 11th hour. They need to be in touch with the country’s respective embassy. They need to look at the CDC travel advice and talk to their parents about how they feel about going abroad at this time.”

The post What omicron’s global spread could mean to international students appeared first on University Business.

The number of international students coming to the United States fell sharply from 2019-20 (1,075,496) to 2020-21 (914,095), when COVID-19 ravaged opportunities. The most jarring was the 46.5% drop in new student enrollment, not surprising given the shutdown of travel. But higher education did well to serve students, including those that remained on campuses and those they could reach remotely.

“The COVID 19 pandemic disrupted the international educational landscape on a global scale that had not happened before,” said Dr. Mirka Martel, head of research at IIE. “Universities showed flexibility in offering many of these students the opportunity to begin or continue their studies online. Despite challenges related to health and safety and travel restrictions, over 145,000 international students were able to begin their studies in the United States or online from abroad.”

But after three consecutive years of steady representation among the overall U.S. higher ed population at 5.5%, last year saw a drop to 4.6%, or 19 million students. The hope is that as travel restrictions are lifted those numbers will rise again. A Snapshot preview from the IIE and U.S. Department of State hints that is occurring.

University Business offers a closer look at data from five areas of the Open Doors Report where international study was most affected:

Countries where international students were affected

Getting students to the U.S. was a challenge throughout the world but particularly in five countries: Germany (-42%), France (-33.4%), Japan (-32.9%), Saudi Arabia (-29.2%) and Spain (-27.3%), especially as many countries in Europe struggled to contain the novel coronavirus and locked down. Japan’s decline was notable because of the cancellation of many Intensive English Programs. Martel noted that non-degree studies fell by 64%.

The countries with the most representation in the U.S. international student system all fell by double digits, led by South Korea (20.7%), China (-14.8%) and India (-13.2%). China continued to send the most students to U.S. institutions with more than 317,000 in 2020-21.

Fields of study

Engineering, along with math and computer science, continues to be the top field of interest among international students. All nonetheless experienced double-digit drop-offs in enrollment during 2020-21, falling below 200,000 students after being above that level in 2019-20. Business and management help comprise another 16% of students pursuing education in the U.S. and was hard hit, falling more than 16%.

Institutions that continued to serve

Of the 703,000 international students (not including those involved in Optional Practical Training), these were the Top 10 institutions welcoming international students in 2020-21:

1. New York University, 17,050
2. Northeastern University, 15,880
3. Columbia University, 15,015
4. University of Southern California, 14,992
5. Arizona State University, 13,015
6. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 12,838
7. University of California at San Diego, 10,824
8. Boston University, 10,646
9. Purdue University (West Lafayette), 10,500
10. University of California at Los Angeles, 10,273

Study abroad

Matthew Lussenhop, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department, noted that “the global pandemic essentially halted all international travel for U.S. students,” affecting more than half of the nearly 350,000 participants. The Open Doors data on study abroad (2019-2020) is typically a cycle behind the other international student findings, but it does include that spring/summer information from early in the pandemic.

During the spring/summer of 2020, study abroad summer programs fell by 99% (a drop from 134,000 to about 1,300). More than 860 institutions noted that 55,000 students were returned home safely. Among the areas seeing the biggest drops during those stages of the pandemic were China (-79%), Greece (69%), Japan (-62%), Germany (62%), Ireland (60%), South Africa (59%), Chile (58%) and South Korea (57%). Though not likely to return to pre-pandemic levels, the 2020-21 data should be more promising, according to Lussenhop.

How states fared with changes

The state that hosted the most students in 2020-21-California at 132,758-sustained a more than 17% decrease in international enrollment, a pattern that held true for top 10 hosts, which all saw double-digit declines. Utah fared the best, losing less than 1% of those students, despite hosting a third of them from China. Arizona saw only a 6% drop-off, led by the ever-nimble Arizona State University, which hosted more than 13,000 in some capacity. Maryland lost just under 8%, while Maine had a less than 4% decline but only hosted a little more than 1,400 students. The two that struggled the most to maintain international student bases were Delaware (-47%) and Montana (-36%).

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In its new Snapshot of more than 800 institutions, the IIE and the U.S. State Department indicate a 4% increase overall in the number of international students this fall in higher education in both in-person and online modalities. That represents a steep turnaround from the 15% losses the sector saw from 2020-21 data highlighted in the Open Doors Report on International Exchange. The surge is being buoyed by a significant rise in new students, who struggled to gain access in 2020-21.

The news is a relief for many higher education leaders whose enrollments and budgets have been impacted heavily by last year’s losses. International students contribute nearly $40 billion to colleges and universities in the U.S. annually. Though there are still roadblocks preventing travel and accessibility, the signs of a turnaround are happening.

“People have deferred their dream to study abroad but haven’t abandoned it,” said Allan Goodman, CEO of the IIE, who said the organization has waded through 12 in its 102-year history. “What we know in each pandemic is that academic mobility occurs during it. When it’s controlled, there is a surge of the kind we very much hope to see. The data foreshadow that the same pattern will continue in the wake of this pandemic. For the U.S., it will increase and ramp up very rapidly in the years ahead.”

The Snapshot data does not provide as clear a picture as the Open Doors report, IIE head of research Dr. Mirka Martel warned, as more than 2,000 institutions are excluded. But it does offer two significant beacons of hope: 99% of reporting institutions are serving students in person or in a hybrid capacity, and 65% of international students are attending classes on campus.

“77% of reporting institutions indicate that financial support for their international student recruitment efforts is the same or higher than in previous years,” Martel said. “The findings underscore the continued commitment of U.S. institutions to international education and further highlight the appeal of a U.S. education to international students.”

Their efforts in remaining open and providing numerous options where they could to international students cemented their reputations during the height of the pandemic. Continuing international students, whether studying here or at home, fell off by only 3%.

“U.S. higher education institutions showed tremendous dedication and flexibility in their support of international students,” said Matthew Lussenhop, Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the State Department. “Colleges and universities prioritized the safety of all students and implemented online and hybrid teaching, as well as additional flexibilities in admissions and enrollment. Many institutions allowed students to defer enrollment. We applaud the incredible support that the entire higher education community has provided during this very challenging time.”

The U.S. welcomes all students

Though there was a significant drop in international student participation, it likely would have been worse if institutions and EducationUSA advising centers across the world serving more than 170 countries hadn’t been so adaptable. Those pivots even forced the IIE to recognize the status of an international student as being an in-person or online learner, or both.

Regardless of the freefall in enrollments year over the year caused by COVID-19, the U.S. remained the No. 1 destination for students coming from abroad, though there still will be strong competition from the UK, China, Canada and Australia as those countries open up. And yet, the U.S. and its institutions under the Biden Administration have welcomed the exchange of students even with its fiercest global rivals.

China, which far and away sends the most students to U.S. institutions, had 15% fewer students attend in 2020-21 because of the pandemic and restrictions. But Ethan Rosenzweig, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the State Department’s ECA, said he envisions those numbers getting back to pre-pandemic levels.

“We value our Chinese students and their partnerships here as members of the communities and the higher education institutions that they’re joining,” he said, citing the Biden Administration’s mission to keep pipelines open. “International students visiting, studying and being part of the community here and returning to their countries, is central to diplomacy and innovation, economic prosperity and national security.”

That, despite the ongoing concern of China’s rise on the global stage and its quest to gain an edge through innovation and invention.

“The concern over research integrity is a factor for a very small number of students,” he said. “For students who want an engaged educational experience in the United States, the doors are open for them. We’ve tripled the number of Chinese students here in the U.S. over the last decade. You can see that we are amplifying that we welcome students to the United States here for their educational purposes.”

The exchange – which also includes U.S. students studying abroad – also has beenmost welcome with India and South Korea, two of the top countries sending learners here. The nearly one million students overall provide a financial foundation for institutions and help support more than 400,000 jobs across the U.S.

Bringing those students back is still daunting during the ever-developing pandemic as China and other countries wrestle with outbreaks and lack of vaccinations. But institutions are continuing to find ways to get students here – or providing ways for them to take courses remotely.

“73% of reporting institutions are offering COVID-19 vaccines and testing to all on campus,” Martel says, “U.S. institutions are incredibly committed not only to having international students come to the United States but also for them to have a safe experience.”

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After a period that saw rare declines in enrollment of international students coming to the U.S., this year saw 43% more applications sent to colleges and universities. That renewed optimism was fueled by a number of factors that included an improved health crisis, more in-person learning options and a more welcoming political environment.

“The reality is, over the past several years, it’s been a little complicated getting students to the United States,” Dr. Angel Perez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), told a virtual audience at the 2021 Forum presented by the U.S. Department of State’s EducationUSA. “But the good news is visa issuance is returning to pre-pandemic level, and the Biden Administration is very supportive.”

Still, there is an uncomfortable uncertainty that persists for some of the 1.1 million international students who study here, driven by the Delta variant, travel issues and the thought of deferrals. So, college teams are having to get creative, being more supportive, more adaptable, more focused on building partnerships and connections virtually and accepting that this new normal isn’t completely normal.

“I think a big theme, the whole year is being flexible,” says Bryan Gross, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Western New England University, which boasts 300 students from 30 different countries. “It’s really hard to put out a firm policy or stance now knowing how quickly things change.”

Mirka Martel, Head of Research, Evaluation and Learning at the Institute of International Education (IIE), agrees. She says, “we anticipate the recovery to come in phases, tied to vaccinations and travel guidelines.”

That has institutions holding their collective breath. International students comprise more than 5% of all campus populations, contribute almost $40 billion to the economy, prop up enrollment numbers, boost campus diversity and support more than 400,000 jobs. There is also competition for those students from countries such as the UK, China, Canada and Australia. Students who come here do far more than fill housing on campuses.

“International education is critical to the development of strong diplomacy, global affairs and technological and medical advancements,” Esther Brimmer, Executive Director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, noted at the EducationUSA event. “Attracting international students and scholars is an important way for the United States to grow its knowledge economy. They drive research-theory classrooms.”

And they are intent on coming back to the U.S., to the delight of higher ed leaders. “The great interest among students has not lessened at all with the pandemic,” said Darla Deardorff, Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA).

Creating opportunities

Meeting international students “where they are” and providing personal touches are common ideals shared by experts. Deardorff and Dr. Brian Whalen, Executive Director at the American International Recruitment Council (AIRC), stressed the importance of colleges following through on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, especially in assessments, while prioritizing internationalization of curriculum and research, mobility options and affordability. Through the toughest days of the pandemic, they did a remarkable job connecting with partners to perform outreach and assistance and provide steady guidance to international students and families.

“That was a signal to me that going forward we’re going to see a lot more partnerships and more collaborations,” Whalen said. “Institutions need to understand why it’s critically important to integrate [DEI] into each segment of international enrollment and to be able to employ a range of strategic approaches to achieve this. We can’t lose that momentum.”

Whelan also talked up the many unique pathways offered to those who come to study in the U.S., a great selling proposition. For example, Gross said Western New England’s pool of prospective international students includes those already studying in the U.S., at high schools, boarding schools and community colleges. Pre-college programs, too, also give students a taste of the college experience, while affording institutions the chance to showcase their value and get instant feedback.

“Students get to test-drive institutions they may be interested in applying to,” said Christine Parker, Executive Director of Summer Session at The University of Chicago. “If you provide a quality experience and you promote messages and invite people to talk about their experience with others, it’s surprising how powerful that can be.”

One of the most viable pipelines of opportunity for students and colleges has been the 2+2 program. Despite drops in overall enrollment, community colleges were as nimble through the pandemic as four-year institutions in their outreach efforts.

“The real innovators used this time to look at new ways to reach students,” said Dr. Stephanie Kelly, Executive Director of Community Colleges for International Development. “They recruited faculty already involved in study abroad. They recruited staff and students with connections in other countries to be emissaries for higher education. Other members were leveraging their new virtual exchange programs. I encourage you to break down the silos between international student recruiting and curricular and co-curricular programs. While international student recruiting is a competitive field, there are many ways community colleges and universities actually provide a better service for students who want to come study here, and can work together.”

Recruitment strategies that work

Speaking of recruiting, admissions and advising experts weighed in on important areas that college leaders should be considering as they try to reach students through the year.

• The personal touch: “Parents have been feeding back to me, it’s about personal relationships,” Gross says. “Anytime they called, people got back to them. You think about all the technology, all the fancy marketing and virtual events, but I think a big storyline for our success was doing what we’ve always done so well, which is connecting with people.”
• Staying connected: “Good old-fashioned email still works. Zoom. Interviews were really the best thing for us,” said Reon Sines-Sheaff, Director of International Admissions at the College of Wooster in Ohio. “Students wanted to connect one-one-one, so we had individual options to engage and connect on What’sApp or WeChat. But figure out what is too much. Some of my colleagues in China have hundreds of requests for virtual visits. Make sure you have a topic besides your school. We’ve done case studies, essay workshops, [conversations on] sustainability and athletics. Those were the topics that got us in front of students.”
• Webinars and topics: “If students can Google it, they don’t want to hear about it in a webinar,” said Katherine Scodova, and EducationUSA Regional Education Advising Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia. “What they are looking for is insider information, how to stand out in the admissions process, how they stand out if you’re test-optional, how to create a portfolio.” Jess Strong, Recruitment Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, stressed giving students information they need, such as, “what life on campus might be like, financial aid, how do they get involved. Students don’t necessarily need the nuts and bolts of the admissions process.” Scodova also highlighted the value of professors hosting mock classes, breadth across several social media channels and virtual fairs, which “were a great way to us to have more institutions participating than typically would come in person.”
• Visa delays: “I don’t have a lot of positives,” Scodova said. “Quite a few countries remain closed for visas or have slow visa appointment times. Students have been traveling to countries to get visas. We’ve had students from Russia travel to Mexico to get visas. This has been hard because of various travel restrictions due to COVID. Those that didn’t get their I-20s right away were struggling to get appointments in July and August. Trying to figure out other ways to support them is helpful. Please reach out to them and find other options. They want to come to campus. They want to be engaged. So to be stuck at this point is heartbreaking. For students trying to come in January, urge them to get a visa appointment as soon as possible.”
• Test-optional: Scodova recommended that institutions that are test optional promote that. Many students and families remain confused about their value, and high achievers want to submit scores but often have to travel long distances to take exams at limited test centers.
• Get in front of parents: Most experts recommend this, especially with the pandemic still lingering. Parents want to know that their children are safe and are being given the best academic opportunities to succeed. Their feedback also can be very powerful for institutions. Sally Konover, Director of the International Education Center at Diablo Valley College in Concord, Calif., said of the pre-college program experience: “They’re key in marketing because what’s better than to have a happy mother or father talking about their program that their son or daughter just went on, and helping to spread the word.”

As 2021-22 may be as unique as the previous academic year, there are countless considerations. But college reps must remain steadfast and positive.

“How can we make something that might be seen as an obstacle into an opportunity?” said Amber Longtin, Senior International Admissions Counselor at Michigan State University. “You may only be in front of students for 5-10 minutes. What can we do now that we couldn’t provide before?”

Gross said any international student program must be done with the intent of helping them succeed, not boosting bottom lines.

“With declining demographics, change in consumer mindset, unsustainable tuition discounting practices and the rhetoric around struggles in higher ed, a lot of institutions have jumped on the international recruitment market,” he said. “They’re doing it because they’re hoping to diversity their portfolio. No matter what, you’ve got to be in it for the right reasons. International students provide such richness. They benefit our domestic student experience. They benefit our faculty. It’s powerful for our brand and powerful for the students.”

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